Scott's care for the welfare of his army--Account of the money levied
on Mexico--Last note to the Secretary of War while commander in chief
in Mexico--Army asylums--Treaty of peace--Scott turns over the army to
General William O. Butler--Scott and Worth--Court of inquiry on
Worth--The "Leonidas" and "Tampico" letters--Revised paragraph
650--Army regulations--General Worth demands a court of inquiry and
prefers charges against Scott--Correspondence--General belief as to
Scott's removal command--The trial--Return home of General Scott.
As an army commander General Scott had frequent occasion to use money
for which vouchers or even ordinary receipts could not be taken and
the nature of the service could not be specified; he styled them
"secret disbursements." In a letter to the War Department of February
6, 1848, he stated that he "had made no report of such disbursements
since leaving Jalapa, (1) because of the uncertainty of our
communications with Vera Cruz, and (2) the necessity of certain
explanations which, on account of others, ought not to be reduced to
writing," and added, "I have never tempted the honor or patriotism of
any man, but have held it as lawful in morals as in war to purchase
valuable information or services voluntarily tendered me."
He charged himself with the money he received in Washington for
"secret disbursements," the one hundred and fifty thousand dollars
levied upon the City of Mexico for the immediate benefit of the army,
and of the captured tobacco taken from the Mexican Government, with
other small sums, all of which were accounted for. He then charged
himself with sixty-three thousand seven hundred and forty-five dollars
and fifty-seven cents expended in the purchase of blankets and shoes
distributed gratuitously to enlisted men, for ten thousand dollars
extra supplies for the hospitals, ten dollars each to every crippled
man discharged or furloughed, some sixty thousand dollars for secret
services, including the native spy company of Dominguez, whose pay
commenced in July, and which he did not wish to bring into account
with the Treasury. There remained a balance of one hundred thousand
dollars, a draft for which he inclosed, saying: "I hope you will allow
the draft to go to the credit of the army asylum, and make the subject
known in the way you may deem best to the military committees of
Congress. The sum is, in small part, the price of American blood so
gallantly shed in this vicinity; and considering that the army
receives no prize money, I repeat the hope that its proposed
destination may be approved and carried into effect.... The remainder
of the money in my hands, as well as that expended, I shall be ready
to account for at the proper time and in the proper manner, merely
offering this imperfect report to explain, in the meantime, the
character of the one hundred thousand dollars draft."
On February 9, 1848, General Scott addressed what seems to have been
his last note to the War Department as commander in chief of the army
of Mexico. It is brief. He adverted to the fact of his not receiving
any communication from the War Department or adjutant general's
office, and says: "But slips from newspapers and letters from
Washington have come to interested parties here, representing, I
learn, that the President has determined to place me before a court
for daring to enforce necessary discipline in this army against
certain of its high officers. I make only a passing comment upon these
unofficial announcements, learning with pleasure, through the same
sources, that I am to be superseded by Major-General William O.
Butler." The admirable recommendation in regard to the draft was
adopted and carried out, and the money applied to the purchase of
asylums for soldiers.
There was not any general engagement of the armies after the capture
of the City of Mexico. General Lane, always vigilant, kept his force
in constant motion, pursuing, engaging, when possible, and dispersing
the numerous predatory bands that infested his flanks and rear.
The first efforts to agree upon a treaty of peace failed. Active
operations were resumed, and so weakened Mexico that she was left no
alternative but to make "peace such as her powerful and successful
enemy might dictate." By the Constitution of Mexico the office of
President in case of a vacancy devolved upon the president of the
Supreme Court provisionally; but there was no president of the Supreme
Court in September, 1847, the last incumbent having died, and no
successor having been elected when Santa Anna resigned. Congress,
whose duty it was to elect this officer, could only be convened by
proclamation of the President, but, as is seen, there was no
President. In this unfortunate state of affairs, the most influential
of the _Moderado_ party, with the hope of preventing anarchy, then
greatly threatened, if it had not already raised its head, and
conclude terms of peace, prevailed upon Peña y Peña, an able and
enlightened jurist, statesman, and patriot, and senior judge of the
Supreme Court, to assume the provisional presidency. He was recognized
by the State authorities, and pledges were given that they would
uphold and defend it against all intriguers opposed to peace, through
the non-existence of a government competent to make it. It was known
that Peña was not averse to peace.
Mr. Nicholas P. Trist, the commissioner on the part of the United
States, upon the formation of the new Government, made propositions
for a conference of representatives. Owing to the fact that the
Mexican Congress had to be called together to elect a President _ad
interim_ to serve until January 8, 1848, the overtures of Mr. Trist
could not be entertained. By a combination between the Puro party and
the adherents of Santa Anna and other factions, the _Moderado_ party
came very near being defeated, but the latter were successful and
elected General Don Pedro Maria Anaya _ad interim_ President; and Peña
y Peña and General Mora y Villamil, both in favor of peace, were made
respectively Minister of Foreign Relations and Minister of War.
Negotiations were now again formally undertaken. The Mexican
Government was represented by Señores Conto, Atristain, and Cuevas.
The commissioners of the respective countries met at Guadalupe
Hidalgo, three miles from the City of Mexico. After many meetings,
long conferences, and discussions, a treaty of peace, friendships, and
limits between Mexico and the United States was concluded and signed
February 2, 1848.
A synopsis of the treaty is given. Some of the articles are given in
full, as the fifth, which secured to the United States the great State
of California with its incalculable wealth in mineral and agriculture
resources, and the territory of New Mexico, also rich in all that
Nature can yield.
_Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, concluded February 2, 1848.
Ratifications exchanged at Queretaro, May 30, 1848. Proclaimed July
4, 1848_.
The United States was represented by Nicholas P. Trist, and the
Republic of Mexico was represented by Don Louis Gonzaga Cuevas, Don
Bernardo Conto, and Don Miguel Atristain.
"ARTICLE I. There shall be firm and universal peace between
the United States of America and the Mexican Republic, and between
respective countries, territories, cities, towns, and people,
without exception of places or persons.
"ART. II provides that, immediately upon the signature to
this treaty, commissioners shall be appointed by the commander in
chief of the American forces and the Mexican Government for the
provisional suspension of hostilities and the re-establishment of
the political, administrative, and judicial branches so far as this
shall be permitted by the circumstances of the case.
"ART. III. Immediately upon the ratification of this treaty
by the United States orders shall be issued to the commanders of the
land and naval forces, requiring the latter (provided this treaty
has been ratified by Mexico and ratifications exchanged) to
immediately desist from blockading any Mexican ports, and requiring
the former (under the same conditions) to withdraw all troops of the
United States then in the interior of the Mexican Republic to a
distance from the seaport not exceeding thirty leagues--this to be
done with the least possible delay; and to deliver up all
customhouses at all ports occupied by the forces of the United
States to persons authorized by the Mexican Government to receive
it, with all bonds and evidences of debt for duties on importations
and exportations. An exact account to be rendered of all duties on
imports and exports, after the ratification of this treaty by
Mexico, deducting only the cost of collection. The City of Mexico to
be evacuated within one month after the orders there stipulated
shall be received by the commander of said troops.
"ART. IV. Immediately after the ratifications of the
present treaty all castles, forts, territories, places, and
possessions shall be definitely restored to Mexico; the final
evacuation of the territory of Mexico shall be completed within
three months, or sooner if possible, the Mexican Government engaging
to use all means in its power to facilitate the same. All prisoners
of war taken on sea or land to be restored, and all Mexicans held by
savage tribes within the United States to be exacted from such
tribes and restored to their country.
"ART. V is given in full:
"The boundary line between the two republics shall commence in the
Gulf of Mexico, three leagues from land, opposite the mouth of the
Rio Grande, otherwise called Rio Bravo del Norte, or opposite the
mouth of its deepest branch, if it should have more than one branch
emptying directly into the sea; from thence up the middle of that
river, following the deepest channel, where it has more than one, to
the point where it strikes the southern boundary of New Mexico;
thence westwardly along the southern boundary of New Mexico (which
runs north of the town called Paso) to its western termination;
thence northward along the western line of New Mexico until it
intersects the first branch of the Rio Gila (or if it should not
intersect any branch of that river, then to a point on said line
nearest to said branch, and thence in a direct line to the same);
thence down the middle of the said branch of said river until it
empties into the Rio Colorado; thence across the Rio Colorado,
following the division line between Upper and Lower California to
the Pacific Ocean. The southern and western limits of New Mexico
mentioned in this article are those laid down in the map entitled
'_Map of the United Mexican States, as organized and defined by
various acts of Congress of said republic, and constructed according
to the best authorities. Revised edition. Published in New York, in
1847, by J. Disturnell_'; of which map a copy is added to this
treaty, bearing the signatures and seals of the undersigned
plenipotentiaries. And in order to preclude all difficulty in
tracing upon the ground limit separating Upper from Lower
California, it is agreed that the said limit shall consist of a
straight line drawn from the middle of the Rio Gila, where it unites
with the Colorado, to a point on the coast of the Pacific Ocean
distant one marine league due south of the southernmost point of the
port of San Diego, according to the plan of said port made in 1782
by Don Juan Pantoja, second sailing master of the Spanish fleet,
and published at Madrid in the year 1802, in the atlas to the voyage
of said schooners Sutil and Mexicana; of which plan a copy is
hereunto added, signed and sealed by the respective
plenipotentiaries.
"In order to designate the boundary line with due precision upon
authoritative maps, and to establish upon the ground landmarks which
shall show the limits of both republics, as described in the present
article, the two governments shall each appoint a commissioner and
surveyor, who, before the expiration of one year from the date of
the exchange of ratifications of this treaty, shall meet at the port
of San Diego and proceed to run and mark the said boundary in its
whole course to the mouth of the Rio Bravo del Norte. They shall
keep journals and make out plans of their operations; and the result
agreed upon by them shall be deemed a part of this treaty, and shall
have the same force and effect as if inserted therein. The two
governments will amicably agree regarding what may be necessary to
these persons, and also as to their respective escorts, should such
be necessary.
"The boundary line established by this article shall be religiously
respected by each of the two republics, and no change shall ever be
made therein, except by the express and free consent of both nations
lawfully given by the General Government of each in conformity with
its own constitution.
"ART. 6 gives citizens of the United States free navigation
of the Gulf of California and the Rio Colorado below its confluence
with the Gila.
"ART. 7. The Rio Gila and the part of the Rio Bravo del
Norte are made free for the navigation of vessels of both countries
without tax.
"ART. 8. Mexicans to remain in the ceded territory if they
choose to do so, or to remove at any time to the Mexican republic,
retaining the property they possess in said territories, or
disposing of the same and removing the same wherever they please.
Those who remain in said territories may either retain the title and
rights of Mexican citizens or acquire those of citizens of the
United States; but they shall be under the obligation to make their
election within one year from the date of the exchange of
ratifications of this treaty; and those who shall remain in said
territories after the expiration of that year, without having
declared their intention to retain the character of Mexicans, shall
be considered to have elected to become citizens of the United
States. Property in those territories belonging to Mexicans shall be
inviolably respected, and the present owners and their heirs and
those who have acquired the same shall enjoy the same, as if it
belonged to citizens of the United States.
"ART. 9. Mexicans who do not declare themselves citizens of
Mexico shall be incorporated in and become citizens of the United
States under such regulations as shall be provided by law.
"ART. 10 of the treaty was stricken out.
"ART. 11. The United States undertakes to deliver up, if
possible, any Mexicans that may be captured by any of the savage
tribes within the ceded territory; and to prevent purchasing any
property from any Mexican while in capture by the Indians; nor to
purchase any property of any kind stolen within Mexican territory by
such Indians.
"ART. 12. In consideration of the extension acquired by the
boundaries of the United States, as defined by the fifth article of
the present treaty, the Government of the United States engages to
pay to that of the Mexican republic the sum of fifteen millions of
dollars, and prescribes the manner and times of payment.
"ART. 13. The United States assumes the payment of all
claims now due and those hereafter to become due by reason of claims
already liquidated against Mexico under the treaties of April 11,
1839, and January 30, 1843.
"ART. 14. The United States discharges Mexico from all
claims of citizens of the United States against said republic.
"ART. 15 provides for the appointment of a board of
commissioners to adjudicate all claims against Mexico, the United
States assuming the payment of such as may be allowed; the Mexican
Government agreeing to furnish such books, papers, etc., as may be
deemed necessary as evidence.
"ART. 16. The right of both parties to fortify any point in
its territory it may deem proper.
"ART. 17. The treaty of April 5, 1831, and its provisions
not inconsistent with this treaty, revived.
"ART. 18. All supplies for troops of the United States
shall be exempt from duties or charges of any kind; the United
States engaging to prevent merchandise and goods from being landed,
under cover of this article, not intended for the army.
"ART. 19. General provisions in regard to merchandise
imported into Mexico during hostilities.
"ART. 20 provides what disposition shall be made of
merchandise arriving in Mexico, if the customhouses shall be
delivered up less than sixty days from the signatures to this
treaty.
"ART. 21. If disagreements should arise between the two
countries, every effort will be made to adjust the same peaceably;
and failing in that, the subject-matter of dispute shall be referred
to arbitration.
"ART. 22 provides what shall be done with the citizens of
either country residing in the other, should war unhappily break out
between the two republics."
The treaty was given to a trusty messenger, dispatched to Vera Cruz,
and the general commanding at that point was ordered to forward it
immediately by the swiftest steamer in the harbor. The general
requested, in case the treaty was accepted and ratified, that he be
instructed as early as practicable in regard to evacuating Mexico, and
the disposition to be made of the wagons, artillery, and cavalry
horses, and the points in the United States to which the troops should
be ordered, and hoped the troops could leave Mexico before the return
of the _vomito_, which would probably be in May.
It had been rumored in the army for several weeks that General Scott
was to be superseded in command, and he announced the fact in the
following order:
"HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,
"MEXICO, _February 18, 1848_.
"GENERAL ORDERS NO. 59.
"By instruction from the President of the United States just
received, Major-General Scott turns over the command of the army to
Major-General Butler, who will immediately enter upon duty
accordingly. In taking leave of the troops he has so long had the
command of in an arduous campaign, a small part of whose glory has
been from position reflected on the senior officer, Major-General
Scott is happy to be relieved by a general of established merit and
distinction in the service of his country.
"By command of General Scott.
"H.L. SCOTT,
"_Acting Assistant Adjutant General_."
There was nothing for General Butler to do but wait the action of the
United States on the treaty that had been forwarded, and then evacuate
the Mexican territory. As has been seen, ratifications of the treaty
were exchanged at Queretaro May 30, 1848, and proclaimed July 4, 1848.
Although General Worth had served with General Scott as his aid, and
the most friendly relations had heretofore existed between them,
circumstances occurred in May and June, 1847, that caused an
estrangement between them which was never healed. On June 16, 1847,
General Worth issued a circular at Peublo of the following purport:
"Intelligence has come to the headquarters of this division, in a form
and from sources entitled to consideration, that food exhibited, and,
in tempting form, for sale to the soldiers, is purposely prepared to
cause sickness and ultimately death"; and he appealed to every soldier
to forbear the procurement or use of such food, as ample rations were
issued, and added: "Doubtless there are among those with whom we are
situated many who will not hesitate, as is the habit of cowards, to
poison those from whom they habitually fly in battle--a resource
familiar in Spanish history, legitimately inherited and willingly
practiced in Mexico."
General Scott had animadverted upon the terms granted by Worth to the
functionaries of the city of Puebla, about May 15, 1847, and strongly
censured the circular referred to. These reproofs induced General
Worth to call for a court of inquiry, which was ordered to convene
June 17, 1847, at 10 o'clock A.M. The court met, and General
Worth submitted a statement of the matters in which he deemed himself
wronged by the general in chief, and to which he invited
investigation. The court gave the matters before it careful
consideration on the evidence adduced and the documents submitted, and
pronounced their opinions. The court found nothing in the remarks of
the general in chief in regard to General Worth's terms to the
functionaries of Puebla to which he [Worth] could take exception;
"that the terms or stipulations granted by Brevet Major-General Worth
to the functionaries of the city of Puebla upon his entrance with his
advance of the army on the 15th of May last were unnecessarily
yielded, improvident, and in effect detrimental to the public
service," and continues: "The court, as required, further declares its
opinion that the 'circular' published by Brevet Major-General Worth to
his division, dated Puebla, June 16, 1847, was highly improper and
extremely objectionable in many respects, especially as it might tend,
by exasperating the whole Mexican nation, to thwart the well-known
pacific policy of the United States, and, in view of the high source
from which it emanated, to disturb the friendly relations of our
Government with Spain, or at least give occasion to that power to call
for explanations or apologies. The barbarous offense against which
that 'circular' warned the soldiers of the First Division, if it
exists at all, equally affected the whole army. The information
obtained by General Worth, if worthy of notice, should therefore have
been communicated to the general in chief, that he might have
exercised his discretion on the means to be adopted for correcting the
evil. With these views of the 'circular' alluded to the court is of
the opinion that it called for the 'emphatic admonition' and rebuke of
the general in chief."
About two months after the occupation of the City of Mexico by the
United States forces a mail arrived from the States. It was found that
two letters written from the valley a few days after the battles of
Contreras and Churubusco had been published in the newspapers. One of
them, published in the New Orleans Delta, was known as the "Leonidas
letter," and gave to General Pillow nearly all the credit for winning
these important battles, and placed him on a plane of military genius
far above the facts, as was understood by parties present. Among other
things the letter said: "He [Pillow] evinced on this, as he had on
other occasions, that masterly military genius and profound knowledge
of the science of war which has astonished _the mere martinets of the
profession_. His plan was very similar to that by which Napoleon
effected the reduction of the fortress of Ulm, and General Scott was
so perfectly well satisfied with it that he could not interfere with
any part of it, but left it to the gallant projector to carry into
glorious and successful execution."
The "Tampico letter," as the other letter was called, is given in
full:
"TACUBAYA, MEXICO, _August 27, 1847_.
"The whole force which moved from Puebla, amounting to ten thousand,
more or less, marched in four columns on successive days, in the
following order, viz.: Twiggs, Quitman, Worth, and Pillow. In
approaching the City of Mexico by the main highway you go directly
on to Penon, which is a strong position, exceedingly well fortified.
Before leaving Puebla, it had been considered whether the main road
can not be avoided and El Penon turned by passing around to the
south and left of Lakes Chalco and Xochimilco. The engineer officers
serving immediately at general headquarters had questioned a number
of persons, including spies and agents sent expressly to examine the
route, and the mass of testimony was entire to the boggy, mucky, and
perfectly impracticable character for wagons and artillery of the
road leading in that direction. It was therefore in contemplation to
turn Penon by forcing Mexicalcinzo, although the ground was
difficult and the batteries known to be numerous. This route, you
will observe, is to the north and right of the lakes. The
reconnoissances of the engineers were consequently directed to this
end. In the meantime General Worth, whose division had been left at
Chalco, while General Scott, with Twiggs, had gone to Ayotla, sent
Colonel Duncan with a large party to examine the denounced route.
"Colonel Duncan found it just the reverse of what it had been
pronounced to be; it was firm, rocky, and quite practicable,
requiring, to be sure, a little labor here and there. General Worth
instantly sent Colonel Duncan with this information to General
Scott, and urged the movement of the whole army to the left of Lake
Chalco. The direct attack was abandoned, and on the morning the
whole army was in motion."
Owing to a letter written by General Taylor to General Gaines, which
was intended to be private and confidential, finding its way into the
New York Morning Express, the Secretary of War issued the following:
"WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, _January 28, 1847_.
"The President of the United States directs that paragraph 650 of
the General Regulations of the Army, established the 1st of March,
1825, and not included among those published January 25, 1841, be
now published, and its observance, as a part of the general
regulations, be strictly enjoined upon the army.
"By order of the President.
"W.L. MARCY, _Secretary of War_."
The following is the paragraph referred to and ordered to be
"published":
"Private letters or reports relative to military movements and
operations are frequently mischievous in design, and always
disgraceful to the army. They are therefore strictly forbidden, and
any officer found guilty of making such report for publication,
without special permission, or of placing the writing beyond his
control, so that it finds its way to the press within one month after
the termination of the campaign to which it relates, shall be
dismissed from the service."
Upon the appearance in print of the two letters referred to, the
commanding general issued the following:
"HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,
"MEXICO, _November 12, 1847_.
"GENERAL ORDERS No. 349.
"The attention of certain officers of this army is recalled to the
foregoing--650th paragraph, 1,825 regulations--a regulation
prohibiting officers of the army from detailing in private letters
or reports the movements of the army, which the general in chief is
resolved to enforce so far as it may be in his power. As yet but two
echoes from home of the brilliant operations of our army in this
basin have reached us--the first in a New Orleans and the second
through a Tampico newspaper.
"It requires not a little charity to believe that the principal
heroes of the scandalous letters alluded to did not write them, or
especially procure them to be written; and the intelligent can be at
no loss in conjecturing the authors, chiefs, partisans, and pet
familiars. To the honor of the service, the disease--pruriency of
fame not earned--can not have seized upon half a dozen officers
present, all of whom, it is believed, belonged to the same two
coteries.
"False credit may no doubt be attained at hand by such despicable
self-puffings and malignant exclusion of others, but at the expense
of the just esteem and consideration of all honorable officers who
love their country, their profession, and the truth of history. The
indignation of the great number of the latter class can not fail in
the end to bring down the conceited and envious to their proper
level."
The day after the publication of the above General Orders General
Worth forwarded to army headquarters a communication in which he
said:
"I learn with much astonishment that the prevailing opinion in this
army points the imputation of 'scandalous' contained in the third, and
the invocation of the 'indignation of the great number' in the fourth
paragraph of Orders No. 349, printed and issued yesterday, to myself
as one of the officers alluded to. Although I can not suppose those
opinions to be correctly formed, nevertheless, regarding the high
source from which such imputations flow, so seriously affecting the
qualities of a gentleman, the character and usefulness of him at whom
they may be aimed, I feel it incumbent on me to ask, as I do now most
respectfully, of the frankness and justice of the commander in chief,
whether in any sense or degree he condescended to apply, or designed
to have applied, the epithets contained in that order to myself, and
consequently whether the general military opinion or sentiment in that
matter has taken a right or intended direction. I trust I shall be
pardoned for pressing with urgency an early reply to this
communication."
On the day General Worth addressed his communication to General Scott,
Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel James Duncan wrote to the editor of the
North American (a newspaper published in the City of Mexico in
English), in which he avowed that the substance of the "Tampico
letter" was communicated by him to a friend in Pittsburg from Tacubaya
soon after the battles, and added: "The statements in the letter are
known by very many officers of this army to be true, and I can not but
think that the publication of the truth is less likely to do violence
to individuals or to the service than the suppression of it." He
states that justice to General Worth, who was evidently one of the
persons pointed at in Orders No. 349, requires him [Duncan] to state
that he [General Worth] knew nothing of the writer's purpose in
writing the letter in question; that General Worth never saw it, and
did not know, directly or indirectly, even the purport of one line,
word, or syllable of it until he saw it in print; that this letter was
not inspired by General Worth, but that both the "Tampico letter"--or
rather the private letter to his friend which formed the basis of that
letter--and this were written on his own responsibility.
On November 14, 1847, General Scott acknowledged General Worth's
letter of the 13th, and said: "The General Order No. 349 was, as is
pretty clearly expressed on its face, meant to apply to the letter
signed 'Leonidas' in a New Orleans paper, and to the summary of two
letters given in the Washington Union and copied into a Tampico paper,
to the authors, aiders, and abettors of those letters, be they who
they may."
It may be well questioned if an officer has a right to demand of his
superior in command whether or not certain expressions used in written
orders apply to him. If one officer could claim this privilege another
also could, until every officer in the command had interrogated the
commanding officer as to the intention of words used in general
orders. To comment upon and disapprove or censure the official acts of
his subordinates is not only a privilege of the commanding general,
but an obligation, for the maintenance of discipline and the _morale_
of the army.
But any officer aggrieved by any censure or disapproval may demand a
court of inquiry, which General Worth did in a letter dated November
14, 1847, addressed to General Scott, in which he says: "I have the
honor to receive your letter in reply, but not in answer to mine of
yesterday, handed in this morning. The General Order is too clearly
expressed on its face to admit of any doubt in regard to papers, and,
in public military opinion, in regard to persons. The object of my
letter, as I endeavored clearly to express, was to seek to know
distinctly, and with a view to further measures to protect myself, if,
as is supposed, I was one of the persons referred to. Regretting the
necessity for intrusion, I am compelled again respectfully to solicit
an answer to that question. I ask it as an act of simple justice,
which it is hoped will not be denied."
To this General Scott replied through his assistant adjutant general
[H.L. Scott], November 14, 1847, "that he [General Scott] can not be
more explicit than in his reply through me already given; that he has
nothing to do with the suspicions of others, and has no positive
information as to the authorship of the letters alluded to in General
Orders No. 349. If he had valid information he would immediately
prosecute the parties before a general court-martial."
The correspondence on this subject was terminated by General Worth in
the following letter:
"HEADQUARTERS FIRST DIVISION,
"MEXICO, _November 14, 1847_.
"SIR: It is due to official courtesy and propriety that I
acknowledge your letter No. 2, in answer to mine of this date; and
in doing so, and in closing this correspondence with the
headquarters of the army, I beg permission to say, and with regret,
that I have received no satisfactory answer to the just and
rightful inquiries which I have addressed to the general in chief;
but inasmuch as I know myself to be deeply aggrieved and wronged, it
only remains to go by appeal, as I shall do through the prescribed
channels, to the constitutional commander in chief.
"The general in chief is pleased to say through you that he has
nothing to do with the suspicion of others, and that he has no
positive information as to authorship, etc., granted. But has not
the manner in which the general in chief has been pleased to treat
the case established--whether designedly or not remains to be
seen--an equivocal public sentiment on the subject? There are always
enough of that peculiar pestilential species who exist upon the
breath of authority to catch up the whisperings of fancy and infect
a whole military community. I do not design to be stifled under the
miasma of such, nor stricken down in my advanced age, without an
effort to convince my friends that I scorn to wear 'honor not
earned.' Your obedient servant,
"W.J. WORTH, _Brevet Major General_."
Following this, General Worth prepared the following communication,
and sent it to army headquarters:
"HEADQUARTERS FIRST DIVISION, _November 16, 1847_.
"_To the Honorable Secretary of War, Washington_:
"SIR: From the arbitrary and illegal conduct, the malice
and gross injustice, practiced by the general officer, commanding in
chief, this army, Major-General Winfield Scott, I appeal (as is my
right and privilege) to the constitutional commander in chief, the
President of the United States. I accuse Major-General Winfield
Scott of having acted in a manner unbecoming an officer and a
gentleman. He has availed himself of his position to publish by
authority to the army which he commands, and of the influence of his
station to give the highest effect to an order bearing date November
12, 1847, and numbered 349--official printed copy
herewith--calculated and designed to cast odium and disgrace upon
Brevet Major-General Worth; to bring that general officer into
disrepute with the army, to lessen, if not destroy, his just
influence and proper authority with those officers over whom he is
placed in command; that he has, without inquiry or investigation, in
the said order published to the army and the world, falsely charged
Brevet Major-General Worth with having written, or connived at the
writing, a certain letter published in the United States, and to
which he has been pleased to apply the epithet of 'scandalous,'
'malignant,' etc.; that he has made these statements to the world,
giving to them the sanction of his high authority and the influence
of his position, while he has had no information as to the
authorship of the letters in question; and when respectfully and
properly addressed upon the subject by the undersigned appellant, he
has declined to reply whether or not he intended to impute to Brevet
Major-General Worth conduct which he had characterized as
'scandalous,' 'malignant,' etc.; be pleased to refer to
correspondence herewith marked from A to E. I do not urge present
action on these accusations, because of their inconvenience to the
service in withdrawing many officers from their duties, but I do
humbly and respectfully invoke the President's examination into the
case, and such notice thereof and protection from arbitrary conduct
of said Major-General Scott as he may deem suitable.
"I have the honor to be, etc.,
"W.J. WORTH,
"_Brevet Major General, United States Army_."
Upon receipt of the above communication at General Scott's
headquarters, General Worth was placed under arrest and charged "with
behaving with contempt and disrespect toward his commanding officer,"
or words to that effect; and the specification to the charge was to
the following effect: "Under pretext of appeal he charged his
commanding officer to be actuated by malice toward him [Worth] and
conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman."
It must have been under a painful stress of duty that General Scott
preferred charges against General Worth; they had been friends for
over thirty years, and the latter had been aid-de-camp to the former.
Worth was the first general officer ordered from General Taylor's army
to report to General Scott on his arrival in Mexico.
It was shown that General Pillow had given a written account of the
battles of Contreras and Churubusco to the correspondent of a
newspaper about August 25th, expressing a desire that it should go off
with first impressions and form a part of the correspondent's letter.
The general told the correspondent he had prepared it for him. The
latter examined the paper submitted by the general, found it incorrect
in many details, and did not send it as requested. When, however, the
mail from New Orleans brought the newspaper with the "Leonidas
letter," the correspondent compared the letter with the memorandum or
statement given him by Pillow and pronounced them almost identical.
The arrest of General Pillow was ordered. He was charged: 1. With a
violation of a general regulation or standing order of the army. 2.
With conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman.
The specification to the first charge was, that he [Pillow] wrote or
caused to be written an account of military operations between the
United States forces and those of the Republic of Mexico, August 19,
1847, in and about Contreras and Churubusco, in which operations said
Pillow bore a part, and which account was designed by said Pillow and
in due time, over the signature of "Leonidas," partially printed and
published in the New Orleans Delta of September 10, 1847, and
reprinted entire in the Bulletin and the Daily Picayune of the 15th
and 16th of the same month, all this pending the campaign between the
forces before mentioned. There were eight different specifications to
the second charge, and under the first there were eight different
items or headings. The specifications cover eleven printed pages.
Their substance and effect was that General Pillow's account was not
correct in the very many particulars specified.[B]
Colonel Duncan was charged: 1. With violation of the 650th paragraph
(revised), General Regulations of the Army; and the specification
cited the "Tampico letter," which he confessed to have written. The
second charge had relation solely to matters of fact set forth in the
"Tampico letter."
On January 13, 1848, the Secretary of War addressed a communication
to General Scott in which he said: "The President has determined to
relieve you from further duty as commanding general in Mexico. You are
therefore ordered by him to turn over the command of the army to
Major-General Butler, or, in his absence, to the officer highest in
rank with the column under you, together with all instructions you
have received in relation to your operations and duties as general in
chief command, and all records and papers properly belonging or
appertaining to general headquarters.
[Footnote B: See Ex. Doc. No. 65, Thirtieth Congress, first session.]
"Desirous to secure a full examination into all matters embraced in
the several charges which you have presented against Major-General
Pillow and Brevet Colonel Duncan, as well as the charges or grounds of
complaint presented against you by Brevet Major-General Worth, and
deeming your presence before the court of inquiry which has been
organized to investigate these matters indispensably necessary for
this purpose, you are directed by the President to attend the said
court of inquiry wherever it may hold its sittings; and when your
presence before or attendance upon the court shall no longer be
required, and you are notified of that fact by the court, you will
report in person at this department for further orders."
General Scott while in Puebla had asked to be relieved from command of
the army because of the want of sympathy and support of the home
Government. He thought active operations would cease in November, and
the passage through Vera Cruz would be safe by that date. The
Secretary, in reply to this request of General Scott, said:
"Regarding the inducement you have assigned for begging to be
recalled as deserving to have very little influence on the question,
it will be decided by the President with exclusive reference to the
public good. When that shall render it proper in his opinion to
withdraw you from your present command, his determination to do so
will be made known to you."
And further:
"The perusal of these communications by the President has forced upon
his mind the painful conviction that there exists a state of things at
the headquarters of the army which is exceedingly detrimental to the
public service, and imperiously calls upon him to interfere in such a
way as will, he sincerely hopes, arrest and put an end to the
dissensions and feuds which there prevail.... The documents show that
General Worth felt deeply aggrieved by your General Order No. 349....
With this view of the import and object of the order, his attempt by
all proper means to remove from himself the ignominy of these
imputations can not be regarded as an exceptionable course on his
part. If he was actually aggrieved in this matter, or believed himself
to be so, he had an unquestionable right to have the subject brought
to the consideration of his and your common superior--the President.
He prepared charges against you, for his letter of November 16th to
the Secretary of War can be viewed in no other character, and
endeavored to send them through you, the only channel he could use
without violating established regulations to his common superior....
General Worth having preferred charges against General Scott before
the latter preferred charges against him, both law and natural justice
require that the order of events should be pursued in such cases. The
charges which he prefers against you should be first disposed of
before proceedings can be instituted against him for malice in
preferring charges, or for presenting such as he did know or believe
to be well founded."
The President was evidently laboring under a misapprehension in regard
to the condition of affairs at the headquarters of the army.
Everything was quiet, industry prevailed, and constant watchfulness
for the comfort of the men of his command was being observed by the
general in chief. The public interests under his charge received his
constant care. No feuds were known to the army, and it was expected
that if there was anything done by the President it would be to
sustain the commanding general. At the time the order was issued
relieving General Scott, both Generals Quitman and Shields were in
Washington, but they were not consulted by the President or Secretary
of War. General Quitman wrote from Washington to his aid, Lieutenant
Christopher S. Lovell: "You are long since informed of the course the
War Department has thought fit to pursue in relation to the
difficulties between some of the generals. Though General Shields and
myself were at Washington when the information came, we were not
consulted."
It was believed by a large number of persons both in and out of the
army that considerations of public good had not in themselves caused
the President to relieve General Scott from command of the army. It
was well known that his political opinions were not in harmony with
the Administration, while those of his successor were. There had been
anything but that amenity which should exist between a commissioner
to negotiate a treaty of peace and the commanding general. General
Scott did not think that Mr. Trist treated him with the consideration
his position required--rejecting all overtures on the part of the
general. General Scott ascribes Trist's conduct to sickness, which is
throwing the mantle of charity over a series of slights amounting
almost to insults, which a general less solicitous for the cause he
was engaged in, and less regardful of his country's good, would have
resented in a manner that would have produced a crisis detrimental to
the interests of the Government.
General Scott, commander in chief, being the accuser, and Pillow,
Worth, and Duncan the defendants, the duty devolved upon the President
to appoint the court, which he did, composed of Brigadier-General
Nathan Towson, paymaster general, Brigadier-General Caleb Cushing, and
Brevet Colonel William G. Belknap, with Captain S.C. Ridgely, judge
advocate and recorder.
The court organized and adjourned to the City of Mexico, where it met
March 16, 1848, all the members present, the judge advocate and
recorder. General Pillow was also in attendance. No objection being
made to any member of the court, they were duly sworn. General Scott
then read a paper, from which the following extracts are made:
"Having, in the maintenance of what I deemed necessary discipline,
drawn up charges and specifications against three officers then under
my command, I transmitted the papers November 28, 1847, to the
Secretary of War, with a request in each case that the President,
under the act of May 29, 1830, would appoint a general court-martial
for the trial of the same. This court of inquiry is the result. I am
stricken down from high command; one of the arrested generals is
pre-acquitted and rewarded, and of the other parties, the judge and
his prisoners, the accuser and the accused, the innocent and the
guilty, with that strange exception, all thrown before you to scramble
for justice as we may.
"In the case of Major-General Pillow I preferred two charges: the
first with one specification, respecting a prohibited publication in
the newspapers of the United States, and the second embracing a great
number of specifications.
"Considering, Mr. President, that I asked for a general court-martial
to try and definitely determine cases specifically defined and set
out, and that this preliminary court has no power beyond the mere
collection of facts and giving an inoperative opinion thereon;
considering that, if we now proceed, the whole labor must be gone over
again at least by the parties and witnesses; considering that the
court will be obliged to adjourn to the United States in order to have
the least hope of obtaining the testimony of these important
witnesses, now retired to civil life, and therefore not compellable to
attend a military court even at home, or to testify before a
commission duly appointed by such courts, and the parties will not be
able to leave this country for home without peril of life. Considering
that there is a near prospect of peace between the United States and
Mexico, which may be consummated in time to enable this whole army to
return home at once in safety; considering immediately, on such
consummation, that Major-General Pillow would, by express terms of the
law under which he holds his commission, be out of the army, and
therefore no longer amenable for his acts to any military tribunal;
considering that, in preferring the charges against that officer, I
was moved solely by the desire to preserve the discipline and honor of
the army, not having even had the slightest personal quarrel or
difficulty with him, and that the time had probably gone by for
benefiting the service by a conviction and punishment--in view of
these circumstances, I shall, Mr. President, decline prosecuting the
charges and specifications against Major-General Pillow before this
preliminary court, without its special orders, or further orders from
the President of the United States."
In total disregard of the charges preferred against General Worth by
the commanding general, the President ordered him to be released from
arrest and restored to his command. General Worth, considering that
the President had done him "full and ample justice," withdrew his
charges against General Scott; to which the latter said that he "felt
strong in conscious rectitude, strong in all the means of defense,
defied his accusers, and would not plead the letter withdrawing the
accusations against him in bar of trial; that he challenged the writer
of that letter to come forward and do his worst."
Colonel Duncan having admitted that he had written the "Tampico
letter," thus pleading guilty to violating the army regulations, and
the President having ordered a court of inquiry and not a
court-martial, General Scott declined to prosecute him before this
court or a court-martial without express orders from the President.
General Scott considered that it was not for him to attempt to uphold
a regulation which the President had revived and then disregarded.
While Colonel Duncan no doubt believed all he had written to be true,
the evidence of Colonel H.L. Scott, assistant adjutant general of the
army, Colonel Hitchcock, and Captain Lee shows that the direct attack,
or that by Mexicalcingo, was never decided upon.
General Scott was informed that the court of inquiry would probably
adjourn to await further orders from the Government. To prevent this
delay, he [Scott] consented to prosecute the case of General Pillow.
With a probability of peace and the disbanding of the army, it was
almost certain that there never would be a trial by court-martial
should such a court be recommended.
On March 21st the investigation before the court of inquiry commenced
in the City of Mexico and continued until April 21st, when the court,
as General Scott had predicted, adjourned to the United States for the
purpose of obtaining further testimony, and reassembled in Frederick,
Md., May 29, 1848. General Pillow did not appear until June 5th, when
General Scott was also present. The latter had been detained by
sickness, and General Pillow had stopped in Tennessee to visit his
family.
On July 1st General Scott submitted the following paper to the court,
and withdrew the charges against Colonel Duncan:
"The reason given for withdrawing the first charge was, that the
President seemed indisposed to enforce the revised paragraph 650,
which he had ordered to be published, and enjoined all to obey and
enforce.
"In regard to the second charge and specification, relating to
matters of fact set forth in the 'Tampico letter,' and which Colonel
Duncan had acknowledged over his own signature he had written, General
Scott, believing that Colonel Duncan had fallen undesignedly into
erroneous statements of fact in the letter, sent an officer to ask him
if he was not ignorant, at the time of writing the letter,
"1. That before the army left Pueblo for the valley his [Scott's] bias
and expectation were that the army would be obliged to reach the
enemy's capital by the left or south around Lakes Chalco and
Xochimilco.
"2. That after his headquarters were established at Ayotla, August
11th, he [Scott] had shown equal solicitude to get additional
information of that route, as well as that of Penon or Mexicalcingo.
"3. That besides sending from Ayotla, August 12th, oral instructions
to Brevet Major-General Worth to push further inquiries from Chalco as
to the character of the southernmost route around the two lakes, he
[Scott] had sent written instructions to General Worth to the same
effect from his quarters at Ayotla.[C]
[Footnote C: General Worth wrote to Colonel Duncan from Tacubaya,
March 31, 1848: "General Scott evinced a disposition to gather
information as respected this route (Chalco) on the 12th.... As I have
said, General Scott directed me to send and examine the Chalco route,"
etc.]
"4. That while at Ayotla, from the 11th to the 15th of August, he
[Scott] sent a Mexican from Ayotla, independent of General Worth, all
around the village of Xochimilco to report to him [Scott] whether
there had been any recent change in the route, either in the matter
of fortifications or from overflowing of the lakes.
"5. That in the evening of the 13th he [Scott] had ordered Captain
Mason, of the engineers, to report to General Worth the next morning,
to be employed in reconnoitering that same southern route, in which
service he had already been anticipated by the reconnoitering party
under himself--Colonel Duncan."
The officer was authorized to say that if Colonel Duncan would state
that he was ignorant of these facts, he would withdraw and abandon,
upon his word, the second charge and specification.
To this Colonel Duncan replied that he "believed the facts therein
('Tampico letter') set forth to be substantially true, and still
believed so; had no desire to detract directly or indirectly from the
merits of any officer, and no one could regret more than himself if he
had done so. If the statements of General Scott were facts, he learned
them for the first time, and was ignorant of them when he wrote the
'Tampico letter.'" General Scott's reply was that "ample evidence,
both oral and written, was at hand to substantiate his averments in
respect to the route around Lakes Chalco and Xochimilco." He then
withdrew the second charge against Colonel Duncan.
Following is the opinion of the court of inquiry in General Pillow's
case:
"On reviewing the whole case, it will be seen that the points on which
the conduct of General Pillow has been disapproved by the court are
his claiming in certain passages of the paper No. 1" (the letter he
gave Mr. Freuner, correspondent of the New Orleans Delta, and which
had been pronounced a twin brother to the "Leonidas letter"), "and in
his official report of the battles of Contreras and Churubusco, a
larger degree of participation in the merit of the movements
appertaining to the battle of Contreras than is substantiated by the
evidence, or he is entitled to, and also the language above quoted, in
which that claim is referred to in the letter to General Scott.
"But as the movements actually ordered by General Pillow at Contreras
on the 19th were emphatically approved by General Scott at the time,
and as the conduct of General Pillow in the brilliant series of
military operations carried on to such triumphant issue by General
Scott in the Valley of Mexico appears by the several official reports
of the latter, and otherwise, to have been highly meritorious, from
these and other considerations the court is of the opinion that no
further proceedings against General Pillow in this case are called for
by the interests of the public."
On July 7, 1848, the President, through the Secretary of War, issued
an order approving the findings of the court of inquiry, and adds:
"The President, finding, on a careful review of the whole evidence,
that there is nothing established to sustain the charge of 'a
violation of the general regulation or standing order of the army,'
nothing in the conduct of General Pillow, nor in his correspondence
with the general in chief of the army, 'unbecoming an officer and a
gentleman,' concurs with the court in their conclusion that 'no
further proceedings against General Pillow in the case are called for
by the interests of the public service,' and he accordingly directs
that no further proceedings be had in the case."
As has been seen, General Scott had defied his enemies, whoever they
were, to do their worst. The charges against him were withdrawn, and
the court only investigated the charges against General Pillow, with
the result as given above. The court was then dissolved. It is
probably fortunate for all the parties against whom General Scott had
brought charges that a peace had been consummated, after a campaign in
which all participants from the highest in rank to the private had
borne such a brilliant part.
* * * * *
When General Scott arrived at Vera Cruz on his journey home he found
several fast steamers in port, any one of which he could have taken
passage in, but, with a consideration for the comfort of his men,
which throughout his career he never failed to evince, he left them
for the troops soon to embark, and taking a small sailing brig, loaded
down with guns, mortars, and ordnance stores, started on his voyage to
New York. On Sunday morning, May 20th, at daylight, the health officer
boarded the brig, and the general landed and proceeded to Elizabeth,
N.J., to join his family. He had the Mexican disease (diarrhoea)
upon him, and required rest and good nursing. He was not long
permitted to enjoy his much-needed repose, for deputations from New
York tendered him one of the most magnificent civic and military
receptions ever extended to any hero in this country up to that time.